Where do you expect the team to be ranked?
How does that fall in the the preseason SEC rankings as well?
How does that fall in the the preseason SEC rankings as well?
Preseason baseball ranking?
- Thread starter Walter White.sixpack
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And as i just mentioned in another thread that ranking puts us as the only school in the country to be ranked in football, wbb, mbb, and baseball. Great time to be a dawg! We gonna get a natty or 2 soon.
Do your research. Arkansas lost their whole team. We finished 4th in the country. I think by the end we proved the team wasn't a fluke, it had real talent and showed glimpses of it all year (beating Ole Miss, Arkansas and Flarrda thoroughly). That team returns most of those players and adds a highly rated recruiting class.
LSU does return a lot if I remember correctly, and so does Ole Miss (in the lineup). Auburn lost a good chunk too.
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If the experts do research, anything outside the top 10 would be disappointing.
Because I have no doubt this will be a top 10 team at year's end and has a great chance of winning it all if pitching depth stays healthy and is as good as advertised. Think about this. We already have a solid 3 man rotation if Plumlee pitches like he's capable. Something we haven't had in years, including last year. Find a 4th starter and the sky's the limit. Especially if Gordon comes back and eats solid innings like he did the last month of the season. Throw in what should be a serious bullpen with Self and Price, if he comes back strong, and this is going to be a special year. I haven't even talked about the lineup. We lose 2 hitters and whoever we put out there in those spots should be as good or better hitters. Nothing against Belmont and Stovall, love them both, but I can see some upgrades at the plate in those spots. Bottom line to me is we already had a good team coming back. Throw in the addition of Plumlee and Ginn and suddenly we're a whole different animal.
Because I have no doubt this will be a top 10 team at year's end and has a great chance of winning it all if pitching depth stays healthy and is as good as advertised. Think about this. We already have a solid 3 man rotation if Plumlee pitches like he's capable. Something we haven't had in years, including last year. Find a 4th starter and the sky's the limit. Especially if Gordon comes back and eats solid innings like he did the last month of the season. Throw in what should be a serious bullpen with Self and Price, if he comes back strong, and this is going to be a special year. I haven't even talked about the lineup. We lose 2 hitters and whoever we put out there in those spots should be as good or better hitters. Nothing against Belmont and Stovall, love them both, but I can see some upgrades at the plate in those spots. Bottom line to me is we already had a good team coming back. Throw in the addition of Plumlee and Ginn and suddenly we're a whole different animal.
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Well based on BA pre-season picks for Omaha and the Super Regionals, I could see this team that was very meh in the regular season last year, being a Top 16 team to start the season.
BA picks for Omaha
UF, FSU, LSU, UNC, Stanford, Texas Tech, UCLA, and Vandy.
The other 8 teams in Super Regionals:
Baylor, East Carolina, Georgia, Louisville, Michigan, Mississippi State, Oregon State, UC-Irvine.
5 SEC teams in SR, 3 ACC, 3 PAC12, 2 B12, 1 B1G, 1 WCAC, 1 CUSA
BA picks for Omaha
UF, FSU, LSU, UNC, Stanford, Texas Tech, UCLA, and Vandy.
The other 8 teams in Super Regionals:
Baylor, East Carolina, Georgia, Louisville, Michigan, Mississippi State, Oregon State, UC-Irvine.
5 SEC teams in SR, 3 ACC, 3 PAC12, 2 B12, 1 B1G, 1 WCAC, 1 CUSA
The only thing this team seems to be missing is left handed relief pitching. Outside of Ethan Small (our #1 starter) we don't have a LHP that I would trust on the mound right now.
Martin/Kjerstad/Fletcher should be as good of a top of the lineup as anyone in the country, but yeah Arkansas did lose a lot other than that. Probably a Super Regional ceiling this year.
Wishful thinking bro. I won't hate on your too hard because if I were you after last June, I'd probably give up watching college baseball.
agree with this. Need to really develop McLeod so maybe he can be a bullpen guy on SEC weekends the last half of the season.
Just because someone has a different opinion from you doesn’t mean they didn’t do their research. But whatever man, you be you.
Arkansas did lose a lot but they’ve still got some absolute studs on that team. They were on missed pop up away from winning it all. Not that preseason polls matter in baseball, but I expect them to be a Top 15 or so team and ranked higher than us to start the year.
Most people see us as an OK team that just got hot at the right time, and it’s hard to argue with that. We have some question marks and some holes to fill from last year. I think we’ll at least be as good as we were last year and maybe even have a chance to be really good, but we could easily just be a 2 seed that bows out before the Supers.
Worry about the expectations of this club:
We forget really quickly that this team was a bad last weekend of the year from missing the post-season completely.
We forget really quickly that this team was a walk-off homer away from being 2 and out in the regional.
I think the baseball america projection is about dead on and I think we should all be thrilled if we make it that far again.
We return 4 hitters that had good years last year. Mangun, Jordan, Mac, and Allen. There isnt another regular player that hit above .259 last year. We are all expecting huge jumps from these kids, and it may happen, but it very well may not.
Also think the loss of Pilkington is going to be huge. You're talking about a guy that has logged many SEC innings and was a bon-a-fide Friday night guy. We had 2 friday night guys last year and people dont realize how huge that is and was. We have many capable arms that may be able to produce that, but far from a sure thing.
Minus that we lost 2 of our 3 weekend guys, our closer in smith, and 2 more seniors in france and neff that logged. We lost 304 of the 614 innings that we threw last season on the mound. Nearly 50%. There will be some bumps in the road.
If everything goes well, we have a chance at a run, but its hard to catch lightening in a bottle 2 years in a row. I'd be thrilled with hosting a regional and playing in a super this season. Its not Omaha or bust in my eyes
We forget really quickly that this team was a bad last weekend of the year from missing the post-season completely.
We forget really quickly that this team was a walk-off homer away from being 2 and out in the regional.
I think the baseball america projection is about dead on and I think we should all be thrilled if we make it that far again.
We return 4 hitters that had good years last year. Mangun, Jordan, Mac, and Allen. There isnt another regular player that hit above .259 last year. We are all expecting huge jumps from these kids, and it may happen, but it very well may not.
Also think the loss of Pilkington is going to be huge. You're talking about a guy that has logged many SEC innings and was a bon-a-fide Friday night guy. We had 2 friday night guys last year and people dont realize how huge that is and was. We have many capable arms that may be able to produce that, but far from a sure thing.
Minus that we lost 2 of our 3 weekend guys, our closer in smith, and 2 more seniors in france and neff that logged. We lost 304 of the 614 innings that we threw last season on the mound. Nearly 50%. There will be some bumps in the road.
If everything goes well, we have a chance at a run, but its hard to catch lightening in a bottle 2 years in a row. I'd be thrilled with hosting a regional and playing in a super this season. Its not Omaha or bust in my eyes
Pilk was not a legit friday guy. Small was far better. And foscue hit 312 in conference
mangum, rowdy, allen, mac, westberg, and foscue is a great starting 6 in the lineup
we will miss neff more than anyone as far as pitchers. Defense up the middle is a huge question mark
mangum, rowdy, allen, mac, westberg, and foscue is a great starting 6 in the lineup
we will miss neff more than anyone as far as pitchers. Defense up the middle is a huge question mark
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Westberg hit 248 last year, he hit 217 in conference games and struck out 21 of his 60 at bats. Foscue only played 2/3rds of the SEC games and hit .241 on the year. Lots of lineups in the country that bring back a better 6 guys than this.
Again not down on them, just saying a far cry from sure things or sure bets. We hope they make significant strides, but far from a sure thing.
We can disagree about Pilk if you want. He was a top 5 round draft pick, great stuff, averaged 6 innings a start which set the team up for the weekend but not burning the pen and matched up with the other teams ace.
Also if you want to use SEC stats, then we lost 166 of our 274 innings pitched, 61%. And 4 of our top 6 weekend arms.
Expectation of winning it all seems way too high.
Again not down on them, just saying a far cry from sure things or sure bets. We hope they make significant strides, but far from a sure thing.
We can disagree about Pilk if you want. He was a top 5 round draft pick, great stuff, averaged 6 innings a start which set the team up for the weekend but not burning the pen and matched up with the other teams ace.
Also if you want to use SEC stats, then we lost 166 of our 274 innings pitched, 61%. And 4 of our top 6 weekend arms.
Expectation of winning it all seems way too high.
End of day in my opinion we are going to be a like a lot of SEC teams. Top 25 team, with a chance to do worse or better depending health, recruits coming in, and how young players develop.
Are we as good as we finished last season, I think not.
Are we as bad as we begin last season, I think not.
Somewhere in between is likely. Omaha or bust, National Champs, all that jazz, way too high of expectations.
Are we as good as we finished last season, I think not.
Are we as bad as we begin last season, I think not.
Somewhere in between is likely. Omaha or bust, National Champs, all that jazz, way too high of expectations.
Pilk as a legit friday guy is not debatable. 5.49 era in conf. .282 baa. Less than a k per inning
If people want to doubt production from freshmen who have shown they can play at a high level thats fine
but we add a first rd pick, plumlee who probably wont be any worse than billingsley and possibly two relievers that have not been healthy. Excitement is warranted
If people want to doubt production from freshmen who have shown they can play at a high level thats fine
but we add a first rd pick, plumlee who probably wont be any worse than billingsley and possibly two relievers that have not been healthy. Excitement is warranted
Bottom line is this. 8dog is being positive, so you know there MUST be a reason. Patdog is saying we won't be great, so if patdog agrees with you on baseball, you're probably wrong (sorry HuntDawg).
Now, if Kendall Rogers comes out and says we will be decent, we will know for certain we have a national title capable team on our hands. He's only done that once in my memory, and that was 2013.
Now, if Kendall Rogers comes out and says we will be decent, we will know for certain we have a national title capable team on our hands. He's only done that once in my memory, and that was 2013.
Again we can disagree. He set the rotation up for the rest of the crew. He pitched on Friday night two years in a row.
We lose 2 weekend starters, we lose 3 more quality pen arms. We lose 4 of 6 of our top weekend arms.
We have recruited well, we have some arms coming back from injury. If those guys come thru we are fine, if they don't, then what?
Goes back to what I said-- our season will depend on how the young kids grow up and how the newcomers play. Thats the case with many teams across the country. We have 4 quality arms back that we know what they are going to do: small, self, James, gordon. We return 4 hitters that had solid years, 5 if you want to like foscues sec numbers.
We may be really good if all goes well, we may be a 2-3 seed that bows out early. I tend to think the middle. But the people that are expecting national championship seems far fetched. This isn't even the best team we've had on paper in the last 5 years.
We lose 2 weekend starters, we lose 3 more quality pen arms. We lose 4 of 6 of our top weekend arms.
We have recruited well, we have some arms coming back from injury. If those guys come thru we are fine, if they don't, then what?
Goes back to what I said-- our season will depend on how the young kids grow up and how the newcomers play. Thats the case with many teams across the country. We have 4 quality arms back that we know what they are going to do: small, self, James, gordon. We return 4 hitters that had solid years, 5 if you want to like foscues sec numbers.
We may be really good if all goes well, we may be a 2-3 seed that bows out early. I tend to think the middle. But the people that are expecting national championship seems far fetched. This isn't even the best team we've had on paper in the last 5 years.
I'm not wrong about the fact baseball is the hardest sport of the big 4 to predict preseason. Lot of new guys and guys who produced little as FR and/or are coming off major injury have to come through for this to be an elite team. Not to mention, a new coach who has limited prior success as a head coach. No way to know how all that will turn out.
What's positive is that we are taking veteran guys like France/Neff who were stop-gap transfers (great bulldogs, this is not meant as an insult, and certainly warriors last season), and replacing them with (theoretically) younger but more talented guys. That's how you build a program that trends upwards.
You also cannot put a value on a guy like Mangum returning to anchor everything, not to mention him being as good as he is. Then you have MacNamee and Gordon back as seniors? I still can't believe we got Small back. You absolutely cannot rule out guys like McQuary, Plumlee and Breaux, who have big time talent, and now another year of maturity/discipline/recovery, whatever the situation with any of them.
This team has serious talent AND leadership. Did I mention we now have a coach who knows what he is doing?
As I said... top 25 team. Could be great. Could be solid. Could struggle.
But national champs or Omaha or bust is way too high an expectation.
The young hitters, do they grow up? Do the pitchers you mentioned grow up, do the returning arms off injuries revert to their old selfs? Does this recruiting class come in and make an impact or are they like some of the freshman from this season and struggle?
All huge questions in my mind. If all those answers are yes, then lines up very well. If 2 of the 3 don't then what happens?
But national champs or Omaha or bust is way too high an expectation.
The young hitters, do they grow up? Do the pitchers you mentioned grow up, do the returning arms off injuries revert to their old selfs? Does this recruiting class come in and make an impact or are they like some of the freshman from this season and struggle?
All huge questions in my mind. If all those answers are yes, then lines up very well. If 2 of the 3 don't then what happens?
I'll be honest. All offseason I really thought it was Omaha or bust. It wasn't until the last month or so I took a step back and realized that may not be being realistic. I mean we lose Pilk, Neff, France, and JB on the mound. You compound that with losing your middle infield and there's going to be some struggles. Now I believe Mangum, Jordan, and Allen are one of the best 1-2-3 orders we've had in a long time. The success of this team will be determined 4-9. If you can put enough bats together to make a strong lineup I think we have the pitching to get us through. Also, if we could continue hitting the way we hit the last 25 games that'd be........REAL NICE
Collegiate baseball #27
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No. Here is the Real Bottom Line.
Until we get like the Top 6 to 8 programs where we can plug and play quality Freshmen who hit for average and have some power and can run, catch it and throw it, we are going to be Top 15 at best, but usually Top 30. That doesn’t mean we can’t catch lightening in a bottle like last year, or 2007. But there are programs that send guys to the pros as Juniors and the Freshman that takes his place is as good as or even better.
So that long bottom line I just gave just means, if we are going to compete for a championship this year, this year’s Freshmen need to become everyday players and not just hit .240 striking out 35 to 40 times with runners in scoring position. Florida gets this. LSU gets this. Vandy gets this. Arkansas gets this OSU gets this. Texas Tech gets this. Louisville gets this. Miss. State HAS to get this!
Until we get like the Top 6 to 8 programs where we can plug and play quality Freshmen who hit for average and have some power and can run, catch it and throw it, we are going to be Top 15 at best, but usually Top 30. That doesn’t mean we can’t catch lightening in a bottle like last year, or 2007. But there are programs that send guys to the pros as Juniors and the Freshman that takes his place is as good as or even better.
So that long bottom line I just gave just means, if we are going to compete for a championship this year, this year’s Freshmen need to become everyday players and not just hit .240 striking out 35 to 40 times with runners in scoring position. Florida gets this. LSU gets this. Vandy gets this. Arkansas gets this OSU gets this. Texas Tech gets this. Louisville gets this. Miss. State HAS to get this!
That's kind of a joke. I like Small, Ginn, James better than Pilk, Small, Billingsley
We are also returning 9 position players who got a lot of field time last year. Plus, Hayden Jones, Halter, and Landon Jordan.
Just need to shore up the bullpen around guys like Gordon, Plumlee, McQuary and Self. Maybe a guy like Colby White who has a great arm or maybe Spencer Price can help toward the middle of the season.
Geez, that is ridiculously low with what we having coming back and with a first round pitcher coming in. Collegiate baseball is not what it used to be.
You like Small, Ginn, and James better than Pilk, Small, and JB?
James threw 12 sec innings last year had a 7.50 era, and teams hit .353 against him. The freshman sounds really good, and throws the ball hard, but my understanding is he came here b/c the big leagues wouldnt allow him to hit. May be a great arm, but hard to count on it at this point wouldnt you say.
We return many players that played. We return 4 that hit above .259 last season.
To the other poster that said Mangum, Jordan and Allen are the best 1-2-3 we've had in a while. I'll let you rewind two years. I'll take Mangum, Gridley and Rooker. And if the three this year come anywhere close to those numbers I'd be thrilled.
I figure we'd be about 16-20 when the polls came out, so a little low in my opinion as well. But all in all top 25 ish team, which is about the norm.
Yes, much better. Small is a better Friday night guy than Pilk and Small was great in the fall. Ginn is a first round talent obviously, but it's not just his arm strength. He has control and sink on his pitches. He can run it up to 98 and will sit 93-94 where Pilk was throwing 88-89 most of the year. James was coming off of Tommy John surgery. It takes at least 18 months to recover. He throws consistently 92-94 with a swing and miss breaking ball. He had a 2.89 ERA in the Cape over the summer and looked great in the fall. Billingsley had a 5.58 ERA last year.
Talk about trying to find the dark cloud. Where to start -- Keegan James was still recovering most of last year but in his limited 47.2 innings he still had a lower ERA than Pilk and JB. Actually Pilk @4.47 had the 3rd highest ERA on the team of the guys that pitched over 20 innings and JB had the absolute highest @5.57. Those guys had their moments but its not like we are trying to replace pitchers that had All-American years as starters from last year. And, at this point, I believe you can count on Ginn as much or more than any true FR we've had join the team in recent memory. Also, Plumlee wasn't mentioned but I thought he may be a potential weekend starter as well as he comes back on the team? Even Cole Gordon could be a starter but is also valuable as a long reliever.
As far as the offense, while it is true that we return only 4 guys that hit above .259, the main point is we only lost ONE guy from last year (Stovall) that hit over .259. We have 3 guys returning that hit over .300 and a LOT of young hitters from last year, like Hatcher, Westburg, and Foscue, that have all kinds of potential to greatly improve. Plus that doesn't factor in any new players that may be added to the lineup.
I believe you are right. Probably the best FR we've had come to school since Paul Maholm.
Wow, so you mean recruiting better players is a good thing? Geez man what a breakthru
Baseball is almost always littered with some unknowns because there is so much turnover every year. Most decent HS players are only on your roster for 3 years and JUCOs may only be on your roster one year. We should absolutely be a Top 15 team. Anything beyond that who knows.
Elite team. First one, known going in, since 2013. Heard it here first.
Guys being contradictory based on the freshman performance of a bunch of guys that had to, in many cases, play too early... well... I can't wait for the first time we struggle in a game for all of the solid gold for my archives it'll bring.
Guys being contradictory based on the freshman performance of a bunch of guys that had to, in many cases, play too early... well... I can't wait for the first time we struggle in a game for all of the solid gold for my archives it'll bring.
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I'm extremely excited about this team. I think we will be really good this year. I think pitching will be a lot better with more depth. I think Rowdey, Allen, and Westburg all hit 10-12 bombs this year.
I think Landon Jordan is gonna be a player. I think Hatcher and Foscue make big jumps. You could definitely see the potential in Hatcher. He just struggled off speed against lefties last year. Foscue had a lot of big hits for us last year. I think his average climbs this year.
I'm excited to see if Hayden Jones gets a chance behind the plate and what he can do. We struggled to solidify a DH last year and I think this year we will find a good one with all our options.
Curious to see what Halter will do. Whether that's help out on the mound or in the field or both.
This year will be fun and the SEC is going to be stacked and extremely competitive like always.
I think Landon Jordan is gonna be a player. I think Hatcher and Foscue make big jumps. You could definitely see the potential in Hatcher. He just struggled off speed against lefties last year. Foscue had a lot of big hits for us last year. I think his average climbs this year.
I'm excited to see if Hayden Jones gets a chance behind the plate and what he can do. We struggled to solidify a DH last year and I think this year we will find a good one with all our options.
Curious to see what Halter will do. Whether that's help out on the mound or in the field or both.
This year will be fun and the SEC is going to be stacked and extremely competitive like always.
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